Venezia's

What Venezia's does

Venezia's Inc. is a privately held, family-founded New York-style pizzeria chain domiciled in Arizona. Originally opened in Rio Rancho, New Mexico in 1978 by Frank and Clara Montanile after they learned pizza-making in the Bronx, the company expanded to Arizona in 1998 when Dom and Jaime Montanile opened the first Tempe location (initially under the name Pepino's Pizza before reverting to Venezia's following a trademark dispute). As of 2024, the company operates seven locations across the Phoenix metropolitan area (Tempe, Chandler, Gilbert, East Mesa, North East Mesa, North Phoenix) plus a quick-service sub-brand, Pizza Presto, at the ASU Sun Devil Marketplace.

The core product is hand-tossed, thin-crust New York-style pizza made with whole milk mozzarella and fresh daily dough, sold in sizes from 12 to 24 inches. The menu extends to specialty pizzas, cauliflower-crust and gluten-free pizzas prepared in a dedicated prep area, a registered-trademark Zero Crust Pizza Bowl concept, Follow Your Heart vegan pizza, bone-in and boneless wings with 13 sauces, salads with house-made dressings, Boar's Head deli sandwiches, pasta, calzones, desserts, and a kids menu. Supporting infrastructure includes proprietary online ordering at orders.venezias.com, iOS/Android mobile apps, self-ordering kiosks, in-house delivery within defined zones, a corporate catering program for 40+ guests at flat tray pricing, branded retail merchandise via Printful, and gift cards. A registered trademark covers the brand name and the Zero Crust Pizza Bowls concept.

The business model is predominantly direct-to-consumer with five revenue streams: dine-in and takeout sales, proprietary delivery, catering, slice-special combo deals, and retail merchandise. Pricing is unit-based across the menu, with high-frequency weekly promotional mechanics (Kids Eat Free Mondays, Two-Stamp Tuesdays, Thirsty Thursdays, $10 Fridays). Distribution is exclusively company-owned physical locations plus owned digital channels, with no franchising disclosed. In 2023 the company transitioned to an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP), transferring ownership to employees through an ESOP trust while the Montanile family continues to operate the business; owner and president Domenick Montanile (an ASU alum) leads the company. Marketing leverages a Breaking Bad TV feature, ASU Sun Devil Athletics sponsorship, Yelp review management, social media, and SMS/email clubs.

Name

Venezia's

Legal name

Venezia's Inc.

Website

https://venezias.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1978

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Venezia's Inc. is a privately held, family- and employee-owned (ESOP) New York-style pizzeria chain operating seven locations across the Phoenix metro area, plus a quick-service Pizza Presto sub-brand at ASU, serving dine-in, takeout, delivery, catering, and branded retail customers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Pizza Restaurant / Casual Dining

NAICS

Limited-Service Restaurants (722513), Restaurants and Other Eating Places (72251)

SIC

Retail-Eating & Drinking Places (5810)

akta.pro primary industry

Pizza Fast Casual (THAFABAB)

Keywords

• New York style pizza
• Gluten-free pizza
• Corporate catering
• Pizza restaurant
• Online ordering platform

Headquarters

HQ city

Phoenix

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices7 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Dine-in and Takeout Sales: Individual customer transactions for pizza, wings, pasta, sandwiches, salads, and beverages consumed on-premises or taken to-go
2. Delivery Sales: Direct delivery orders placed through company's own platform, avoiding third-party fees for customers within delivery zones
3. Catering Services: Corporate and event catering with party trays of pizzas, pastas, salads, sandwiches, and desserts for groups of 40+
4. Slice Specials: Quick-service individual slice sales with combo deals including drinks and sides
5. Retail Merchandise: Branded apparel and merchandise sold through online retail stores and physical locations

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Venezia's operates seven New York-style pizzerias across the Phoenix metro area, selling hand-tossed pizzas (12"–24"), wings, pasta, salads, sandwiches, and appetizers for dine-in, takeout, delivery, and corporate catering. The company differentiates with award-winning gluten-free and vegan pizza options, a proprietary Zero Crust Pizza Bowl line, and a direct ordering ecosystem (website + mobile apps) that bypasses third-party delivery platforms.

Product overview

Venezia's is a family-owned New York-style pizzeria chain operating seven locations across the Phoenix metro area (Tempe, Chandler, Gilbert, East Mesa, North East Mesa, North Phoenix, and ASU Campus/Pizza Presto). The core offering is hand-tossed, thin-crust New York-style pizza in multiple sizes (12"–24") using whole milk mozzarella and fresh daily dough. The product portfolio spans classic and specialty pizzas, cauliflower crust, gluten-free pizza (prepared in a separate area), vegan/dairy-free pizza (using Follow Your Heart cheese), and Zero Crust Pizza Bowls® (a low-carb, gluten-free casserole-style bowl). Supporting menu categories include bone-in and boneless wings (13 sauce varieties), fresh salads with house-made dressings, Boar's Head cold subs and hot heroes, pasta and calzones, starters and sides, desserts (including vegan/gluten-free options), craft beer and wine, and a kids menu. Services include full-service catering (no per-head pricing, 40+ guest minimum), proprietary mobile and online ordering (iOS/Android), slice specials and daily deals, a Party Pizza Challenge competition, a fundraising program (10% revenue back), and branded retail merchandise and gift cards. A quick-service sub-brand, Pizza Presto, operates on the ASU campus.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Classic Pizzas (Create-Your-Own) Hand-tossed New York-style pizzas in 12", 14", 16", and 24" sizes with whole milk mozzarella and fresh dough made daily, for individual consumers and families.
• Specialty Pizzas House-signature combinations including BBQ Chicken, Bianco, Buffalo Spicy Chicken, Hawaiian, Italian Stallion, Margherita, Meat Lovers, Pesto, Pitchfork, Supreme, and Veggie.
• Cauliflower Crust Pizza Low-carb seasoned cauliflower-based crust pizza in 10" and 14" sizes with cheese or pesto base for dietary-conscious consumers.
• Gluten-Free Pizza 10-inch gluten-free pizza sourced from Venice Bakery, prepared in a dedicated gluten-free food prep area, for celiac and gluten-sensitive customers.
• Vegan Pizza & Vegan Specialty Pizzas Dairy-free pizzas using Follow Your Heart vegan pizzeria blend cheese at no extra charge, including specialty vegan options like The Vegan Dilly and Vegan Delight.
• Zero Crust Pizza Bowls® Low-carb pizza bowls with ~75% fewer carbs than a two-slice meal, available gluten-free or standard, with custom protein/veggie and specialty varieties (Veggie, Diavolo, Combo, Pesto).
• Wings (Bone-In and Boneless) Chicken wings with 13 sauce options including Mild, Medium, Hot, Honey Hot, BBQ, Garlic Parmesan, Lemon Pepper, and Sweet Red Chili, available bone-in or boneless.
• Salads Fresh salads including Garden, Caesar, Greek, and Antipasto, with house-made dressings; gluten-free, vegan, and protein-add options available.
• Cold Subs and Hot Heroes Sub sandwiches and hot heroes featuring Boar's Head deli meats, including Turkey, Ham, Italian Sub, Grilled Chicken, Sausage Peppers & Onion, Chicken Parmigiana, Famous Meatball, and Philly Cheesesteak.
• Pasta and Calzones Pasta dishes including Spaghetti, Ziti, Baked Ziti, and Meat Lasagna, plus calzones made with ricotta, mozzarella, and parmigiana cheeses. Family-size pasta trays available.
• Starters, Sides and Dips Appetizers and sides including Italian Beef Arancini, Garlic Bread, Breadsticks, Mozzarella Sticks, Fried Pickles, Fried Zucchini, Mac & Cheese Bites, Italian Style Fries, and Veggie Plate.
• Desserts Desserts including Big Chocolate Chunk Cookies, White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies, Traditional and Chocolate Cannoli, Crumb Cake, Chocolate Cake, Cheesecake, and Tiramisu, with vegan and gluten-free cookie options.
• Beverages Pepsi products, bottled water, specialty teas, AZ Lemonade Stand specialty lemonades (Prickly Pear, Huckleberry, Sugar-Free), and Bubly sparkling water.
• Beer & Wine Domestic and craft beers plus wine by the glass (Prosecco, Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon), available at all locations for guests 21+.
• Kids Menu Kids meal options including Spaghetti, Ziti, Chicken & Fries, Pizza, and Mac & Cheese Bites; Mondays offer free kids meals with qualifying orders.
• Catering Services Full-service catering without per-head pricing; menu includes Party Pizzas, salad trays, pasta trays, sandwich trays, wings, desserts, and beverages for groups of 40+.
• Mobile and Online Ordering Proprietary mobile app (iOS and Android) and online ordering platform enabling dine-in, pick-up, and delivery ordering with scheduling, deal access, and order history features.
• Slice Specials & Daily Deals Daily slice specials ($5.67–$11.49) with combos including slices + drinks/sides/wings; weekly deals include Kids Eat Free Monday, $8 Tuesday pizza deal, Thirsty Thursday, $10 Friday, and Saturday calzone specials.
• Fundraising Program Fundraising program for organizations (sports clubs, schools, charities) offering 10% of dine-in/take-out revenue back; available Monday–Thursday with 20-order minimum.
• Retail Merchandise Branded apparel and merchandise (hats, hoodies, t-shirts) sold through online retail stores and physical locations, plus gift cards in customizable denominations.
• Pizza Presto (ASU Campus Quick-Service Format) Quick-service format at ASU Campus (Sun Devil Marketplace, Tempe) with extended Friday and Saturday hours; targets students and game-day customers with streamlined menu.

Quantifiable outcome

• 10% of event revenue donated through fundraising program
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• ASU Sun Devil AthleticscoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 14 August 2019Venezia's is the exclusive pizza vendor at all ASU sporting events including football at Sun Devil Stadium, baseball at Phoenix Municipal Stadium, softball at Alberta B. Farrington Softball Stadium, and volleyball/gymnastics at Wells Fargo Arena. Partnership includes in-game signage, PA announcements, social media mentions, coupon book inclusion, and ASU Athletics email inclusion. As an ASU alum, owner Domenick Montanile views this as especially meaningful.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves18 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Pomo Pizzeria: Arizona-based authentic Italian-style pizzeria. Comparable Phoenix-metro presence, dine-in/catering focus, and authentic pizza positioning.
• Grimaldi's Pizzeria: Arizona-headquartered New York-style pizzeria chain. Direct competitor with similar thin-crust, coal-fired approach, comparable Phoenix metro presence, and dine-in/catering model.
• NYPD Pizza: Arizona-focused New York-style pizza chain with multiple Phoenix-metro locations. Directly comparable NY-style pizza positioning, dine-in/takeout/delivery model, and dietary menu options.
• Pizzeria Bianco: Iconic Phoenix-based artisan pizzeria. Comparable authentic Italian-style pizza positioning, dine-in focus, and cult regional brand recognition that competes for similar customer occasions.
• Fired Pie: Fast-casual Phoenix-based pizzeria with custom and specialty pies. Closely comparable counter-service model, multiple Phoenix locations, and fast-casual positioning.
• Oregano's Pizza Bistro: Phoenix-based Italian-American restaurant chain with deep Chicago-style pizza roots. Comparable family-style dining, full Italian menu (pasta, subs, salads), and Phoenix-area multi-unit presence.
• Spinato's Pizza: Family-owned Phoenix pizzeria with Italian menu. Comparable family-owned independent pizzeria positioning with dine-in, takeout, and similar menu breadth (pasta, subs, wings).

Emerging players

• Blaze Pizza: Fast-casual assembly-line pizza chain with strong digital ordering and dietary options (gluten-free, vegan). Comparable fast-casual pizza category, dietary-inclusion menu, and own-platform digital ordering.

Broad incumbents

• Marco's Pizza: Large national pizza franchise with Phoenix-area presence. Competes on similar pizza/wings/subs platform but with significantly broader geographic footprint and franchise-driven unit economics.
• Mountain Mike's Pizza: Growing West Coast pizza chain with family dining focus. Comparable dine-in pizza positioning with multiple locations, broader family-oriented menu, and regional chain scale.

Market position

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/VeneziasPizza
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UC5Z5Jp6c_lJVKEgIbXQJV8Q
• Facebookfacebook.com/VeneziasPizzeria
• Instagraminstagram.com/veneziaspizza
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/venezias-pizzeria

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Venezia's